CLK240 2005 Service B 33,000 miles

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

president

New Member
Joined
May 10, 2013
Messages
12
Car
CLK240 Cabriolet
Hi,

I'm sure this has been asked a million times before so I apologise in advance but I am running out of time.

My clock is telling me to get a service B in 4 days. I went to Mercedes today and now realise I not only need the £355 service but £633.48 of additional extras bringing the total to £988 which I don't have to spare at the moment.

I have a full extended warranty on the car that lasts until nearly the end of June.

Can anyone give me advice as to what alternative options I have?

I looked at a company called Service Stop. They advertise 60% off and have quoted me £235 for a full service whilst using genuine parts, maintaining the warranty and guaranteeing the work but this doesn't mention the additional extras that the Mercedes website says I need done to keep the warranty.

I don't plan on renewing the warranty after it's up in June but I would like to keep it up until then as I have the MOT due just before it's up. If anything is wrong with the MOT then I may be covered.

Can anyone with previous experience help me out as this is my first Merc? P.
 
I posted this the other day in a similar thread. You need. To understand which additional items are due, and whether any component of the quoted price is not required, or not. Actually a scheduled service item, eg brake pads.

When asking for prices with any dealer, I find the following helps - ultimately your dealing with a person, and a business who has ramps to keep busy - at smaller dealerships the person you book with is likely to be responsible for keeping a team of technicians busy and will be keener to do a deal, and larger dealerships tend to see bookings as admin and the person you deal with has little incentive to strike a deal which wins them the business:

1. Be clear about what is actually due based upon the mileage and age of your car, so you know whether "additional items" are really required, as this really bumps up the price a lot, and typically there's some room to negotiate on them. Use the list of scheduled service operations in your handbook, service record, invoices and ESS to work it out for your car: Mercedes-Benz ESS

2. Do what you can yourself, with air filters being a great example. Satisfying and very difficult to argue with if your bought the parts from the parts counter at the same dealer. Provide your own oil, with Costco being by far the cheapest - expect to save about £50 after accounting for the cost of the oil, but tell the dealer when you get prices, to avoid surprises on the day.

3. When calling ask for a Service person by name, it pays to build a relationship, and asking by name kick starts that process.

4. Ask for a breakdown of costs for any additional items which you haven't done yourself already, eg brake fluid, spark plugs, etc. Then ask for discount, and ask if they can do a keener price if you leave the car with them, wait as long as it takes, get in really early or really late to suit their quiet times etc. Ask for a discount on parts too.

PS Phone around several dealerships to get the best price.

PPS Whereabouts are you?
 
What date is the mot due as this can be done before the due date.

So why not get the mot done first and see if it fails on anything.

Then if is doesnt look to get the service done at an independent garage

As above what area are you in.
 
The additional items are...

Replace air filter element
£89.52
Replace spark plugs
£329.76
Replace fuel filter In Model 209.4 up to VIN end T077720
£144.48
Replace brake fluid
£69.72

The only one I may not need is the brake fluid as this was done in 2011. The rest were done last in 2009.

The MOT is due June 15th giving me an early test date of the 15th of May.

I think the display will be telling me I have 3 days left later today and that includes the weekend. If this runs out will my warranty be void or do they have some tolerance?

Also, am I best getting an MOT at Mercedes or doesn't it matter where I go? I'm thinking perhaps Mercedes are more likely to find faults under warranty but there will be a longer waiting list.

I'm in South London just around the corner from Mercedes Croydon.

I went there yesterday to find out prices and ended up having a minor row with the receptionist from service.

She tried to sell me a service plan @ £70 a month for a year but said the extras were not included. When I explained the service plan would cost me 70x12= £840 and the services on their own would be £355 + £225 = £580 and I would be nearly £300 out of pocket she wouldn't accept it. She said no one who takes out the plan ends up worse off.

She then told me that the next service A was the major service. I asked her to pull up a service A on the computer and I pointed out that it was cheaper than a B. She then showed me all the extras and I explained I wouldn't need those as I would have to have them done now.

She tried to sell me the 3 year plan and I explained I wouldn't use the services as I don't do high mileage. She then told me that I needed to have my car serviced every 12 months or whenever the mileage came up. Of which I knew not to be true. I have previously rang Merc ref the 1 year service and they told me to just go on the clock.

In her defence she said 3 of the service managers were off and the woman from Service plan was not available.

But even so, this is the first Merc I have owned. I know nothing about cars or servicing them. I came for some information and the small snippets of info I already had seemed to be more than she knew. I would have been more use sitting on that desk.

She told me if I wanted any wore info I should ring Merc customer services.

As I was leaving the showroom, confused and none the wiser from the moment I entered, I turned on my heels, went back to her and explained I'd taken time out of my day to come down here for some information and all I was getting was miss-information and demanded that the person who dealt with Service plans came down and gave me the correct info. She denied she'd given me miss-information and said the person couldn't come to see me. When I got mad and said I wasn't leaving until I was understood everything without the ambiguity - a gentleman passed, took a look at the stuff and said some people would lose out by taking the plan and in this case that would be me. Bravo! That's all I needed to know!

She was still protesting that everything she told me was correct but I'd stopped listening to her by then. I don't mind that she is covering for someone but don't make stuff up!

Anyway sorry about the rant but felt I needed to get it off my chest :)

Thanks.
 
I wouldnt say it would make a difference who does the mot as they are all done to the same standard

There must be some sort of leeway for getting the service done within the warranty period. As the dealer may not be ale to fit you in once the service says its due for a couple of weeks.

I would read the small print of the warranty. Because if its with mercedes themself they usually tend to put in there that the warranty is void if not serviced at the dealer.

What i would do if it were my car would be get the mot done to see if it fails on anything which would be covered by the warranty. Then find yourself a local independant garage to service it afterwards if you are not looking to renew the warranty.

If you want me to put a quote together for the service im more than happy to
 
How do they know what additional items will be needed? sorry if its a stupid question but i am learning too!
Tony.
 
They have a computer system that they input the reg and mileage and it works out what is due on either time and mileage.

This is only a guide though as some items may have already been done before
 
I wouldnt say it would make a difference who does the mot as they are all done to the same standard

There must be some sort of leeway for getting the service done within the warranty period. As the dealer may not be ale to fit you in once the service says its due for a couple of weeks.

I would read the small print of the warranty. Because if its with mercedes themself they usually tend to put in there that the warranty is void if not serviced at the dealer.

What i would do if it were my car would be get the mot done to see if it fails on anything which would be covered by the warranty. Then find yourself a local independant garage to service it afterwards if you are not looking to renew the warranty.

If you want me to put a quote together for the service im more than happy to

The problem was it told me I had 200 miles to go. As I don't do a lot of miles I thought I had time to sort this out but then it suddenly said I had 4/5 days when I'm too busy at the moment and 2 days are over the weekend.

I rang Mercedes and asked if I had to use Mercedes to keep the warranty and they said yes. I was expecting that reply but I'm sure legally you can use any credited garage.

Andy, I think your advise is good and is what I'm going to do in this situation. So yes, please PM me a quote if you like.

As I can't book an MOT til the 15th I'll see if Merc have a free space then and if not I'll go local.
 
How do they know what additional items will be needed? sorry if its a stupid question but i am learning too!
Tony.

You can do it yourself if you go to the Mercedes Croydon Website, click "my service booking" and enter your details.
 
Is the warranty you have with mercedes themselves or a different company.

Can you pm me over your reg so i can get the details to do a quote.
 
You can do it yourself if you go to the Mercedes Croydon Website, click "my service booking" and enter your details.
And is that just for a no obligation quote? or will my car then be booked in?
Tony.
Dont worry i have looked thanks.
 
Last edited:
They have a computer system that they input the reg and mileage and it works out what is due on either time and mileage.

This is only a guide though as some items may have already been done before

Just tried that on me CLK55. It quoted and added to the bill both the 5 speed gearbox oil change and the 7 speed!!:crazy:

Best contact the dealer direct and explain that the car is over 7 years old so get a discount on the servicing costs as Mercedes offer fixed price servicing for 7 year old cars onwards :thumb:
 
Just tried that on me CLK55. It quoted and added to the bill both the 5 speed gearbox oil change and the 7 speed!!:crazy:

Best contact the dealer direct and explain that the car is over 7 years old so get a discount on the servicing costs as Mercedes offer fixed price servicing for 7 year old cars onwards :thumb:

Thanks. I didn't know that.

I'm worried that I'll be going into Mercedes on Monday to discuss servicing on the day the computer says I need to get the service done. I want to book it in for an MOT on the Wednesday before I get a service. If the MOT throws up anything that may be covered under the warranty, will they still honour it even though the computer says I should have had a service 2 days ago? I don't really want the service done at Mercedes unless they can be very competitive. I can't afford it at the moment. I only expected the service to be between £230-£350.
 
OK. I went to Mercedes today and spoke to a lady who was more knowledgeable and factual.

Firstly, I get 30 days from the date the computer tells me a service is due. So phew! Panic over.

Secondly, the extras needed this time "ARE" included in the service plan. That's 4 pieces of misinformation I was given last time.

So I would be paying 12 x £70 = £840 for this (£988) and the next service. Also the service plan is for 2 services not the time period. So as I only have a service every 2 years - that covers me for the next 2 years.

She thought my mileage was 37,000 and came back with a potential bill of £1200+ with an addition transition fluid change of £300+. So my next service will be £225 + at least £300+ for that fluid. So the total bill would be at least £1600 for the next 2 services.

I have been quoted £650 by an independent for this service. So for an extra £220 I also get the next service and I keep my full warranty until the end of June/July.

Or looking at it another way, I get this £988 service for £840 (£148 cheaper) and I get the next service for free which will be at least £550+.

It's a no brainer. It's actually cheaper and better to go with Mercedes this time. And as I only budgeted for £225-£355 this month not £988, I now only have to find £70. Happy days :)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom